The referees’ mistakes all originated from their weak professional ability, and there was no sign of corruption, delegates said at the four-hour meeting on the organising and management of the country’s professional football leagues held by the VFF last week.

The idea of came about after many clubs repeatedly complained about the mistakes referees have made in the country’s top-tier professional football league over the last 9 rounds.

“However, it is not yet necessary to hire foreign referees since we have to give domestic ones a chance to work,” said VFF Chairman Nguyen Trong Hy.

Hy said the pride of the developing Vietnamese football system, as well as the referee force, will be hurt if international referees were to work in their domestic football leagues.

Even international referees can make mistakes, which will be hard to handle, the chairman added.

“Moreover, we have to seek permission from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to hire international referees.”

Regarding the proposal to , as petitioned by SHB Danang football club, Hy said this is not feasible.

Any clubs are better prepared for the leagues, so the speed of the matches is far greater than in the previous seasons, which some new referees from the First Division have failed to follow, he explained.

For his part, Duong Vu Lam, head of the VFF’s referee department, admitted that referees in V-League 2012 have made many more mistakes than in the last season.

“This is because they are young and lack experience,” said Lam.

While the referees are said to be under pressure from the clubs’ bosses, Lam confirmed that this is a false accusation.

“I myself have only met Nguyen Duc Kien, who is the VPF deputy chairman, only once, how could the referees have the chance to do so?” he added.